Valentine’s Smile @ Novotel Suvarnabhumi

Nowadays, February 14 became the tradition around the world for exchanging love messages and St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers. The date was marked by sending poems and simple gifts such as flowers, but most importantly, they think about love and friendship and when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh because they know that love can't be beaten!

Valentine’s Smile
On Valentine's Day we think of those
Who make our lives worthwhile,
Those gracious, friendly people who
We think of with a smile.
I am fortunate to know you,
That's why I want to say,
To a rare and special person:
Happy Valentine's Day!
By Joanna Fuchs

Surprise Your Sweetheart with an Unforgettable Evening out of Bangkok Most Romantic Valentine's Day Dining Venue! Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport hotel proudly make your night unforgettable, Valentine Sea Food Buffet @ The Square Restaurant.

Our professional Executive Chef, Murray Paterson prepares for you a special Seafood Buffet, parade fresh seafood from the ocean includes crab, oysters, jumbo prawns, etc. All Guests are served with welcome Peach Royal Kir and Sangria free flow, the romance starts from 7.00 pm and advance reservation is required. The evening is priced at Baht 1,200++ per person and there is a wide selection of wines available. To complete the evening, romantic rhythm will be rendered by soft and love music.

You are always in our mind, even though were far apart, come and celebrate the Valentine Day @ Novotel Suvarnabhumi.

“North Park Place” unveils new mock up room Promotion injection on this 14-22 Nov’09

TCC Capital Land celebrates its brand-new mock up room of North Park Place, a luxurious condotel right close to Rajpruek Golf Course on Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road, by organizing “North Park Place’s Welcoming Party”. The chilled-out event will take place during 14-15 and 21-22 November 2009 at the Sales Office. Two special promotions will be offered to customers for their choice: Exclusive Fully Furnished Package and Right-to-Use Rajpruek Club. The project is aptly developed under its unique concept “The Exclusive Hideaway for Elite Society”.


Mr. Soammaphat Traisorat, CEO and MD of TCC Capital Land, disclosed that North Park Place’s new mock up room is now ready for customers to visit. The new show suite is built up in the project building itself. Impressively, it is finely adorned with eye-catching interiors and top-of-the range fittings. Visitors can experience real views in a relaxing and private atmosphere by enjoying the picturesque vista of greenery Rajpruek Golf Course.

“To celebrate the new mock up room and thank our customers expressing kind interest in North Park Place, the company is pleased to offer special promotions during the event period. Customers can choose one from the two options: Exclusive Fully Furnished Package or Right-to-Use Rajpruek Club which has the ultimate value of 2.7 million baht. Furthermore, customers will have fun with various relaxing activities, including Fish Spa with Dr.Fish from Turkey, Make-A-Bear Activity and Golf Clinic by TaylorMade.”, said Soammaphat.

The North Park Place project is located on a 3-rai site worth a combined 1.9 billion baht. The resort-style condominium comprises 130 units. Large sizes range from 112 to 283.5 square metres for 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom and 2-bedroom duplex layouts while penthouse will be sized at least 350.5 square metres. Price starts at 9.9 million baht for 1-bedroom. The construction will start in December 2007 and complete in the second quarter of 2010.

Specifically designed as a resort-style condominium, North Park Place is designed to harmonize between the surroundings and the luxurious usable area with focus on blending with the nature: wind, natural lighting and view. All units face the golf course and each has a large balcony for residents to enjoy the lush greenery and fresh air. The balcony and area in the unit can be connected to be a wide space for a party.

North Park Place is a luxurious condotel developed under the matchless concept “The Exclusive Hideaway for Elite Society”. It is remarkable for the location where residents can conveniently commute via 4 main artery roads: Vibhavadi-Rangsit, Ngamwongwan, Prachachuen and Chaeng Wattana Road. As to such basic amenities as shopping centers, sports club and leading universities, the site of the estate is very close to The Mall Ngamwongwan, IT Square, Villa Market, Big C, Tesco Lotus, Sports City, Kasetsart University, Dhurakijpundit University and Bangkok Government Complex on Chaeng Wattana Road. Last but not least, the project is designed to be like a summer residence in Bangkok, complemented with superior facilities, for instance private lift, swimming pool, golf course and Rajpruek Club.

To date, TCC Capital Land has officially launched 6 condominium projects with success - Athenee Residence on Wireless Road, Villa Rachakhru on Paholyothin Road and Villa Sathorn on Krungthonburi Road fully sold out; The Empire Place on Narathiwat Road, The Emporio Place on Sukhumvit Soi 24, Villa Rachatewi on Phayathai Road almost 100% sold. In the future, the company plans to launch 2 projects: North Park Place on Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road and The Royal Residence, the super luxurious detached-housing project on Kaset-Navamin Road.

Flood victims get royal relief

       Officials have distributed royal relief supplies to flood victims in severely drenched Yala as the province and its neighbours begin the process of recovery.
       Their Majesties the King and Queen have asked the Thai Red Cross Society to distribute food and other necessities to 75 households in tambon Taling Chan in Yala's Bannang Sata district, where five villagers have died during heavy flooding, Yala governor Krisada Boonrat said.
       A villager was also reported dead in Raman district, officials said.
       Bannang Sata is one of eight districts in Yala where 33,297 villagers have watched their neighbourhoods flood, a spokesman from Yala's flood response unit said.
       In Yala's Muang municipality, the water level in the Pattani River has gradually subsided since Saturday night, but it is still higher than its connecting canal Bae Moh, causing overflows in nearby communities, mayor Pongsak Yingchoncharoen said.
       Once the water level is lower than in Bae Moh, he said, a floodgate in the canal could function again and would help rapidly drain water from the inundated areas.
       In Narathiwat, the rain stopped two days ago, but villages and farmland in 13 districts remain under water.
       Officials expect the floods to recede soon if there is no more rain.
       There have been 114,235 affected villagers in these districts, according to Narathiwat's office of disaster prevention and mitigation.
       More than 20,000 rai of farmland and 126 roads have been damaged by the floods, officials said.
       Rescue workers yesterday retrieved the bodies of eight villagers in Si Sakhon district who had been killed by a mudslide during the rainfall on Friday.
       The province tried to drain water from flooded areas, but its work in some areas is causing problems for villagers who have fish farms.
       More than 300 households in Narathiwat's Muang municipality who raise grouper fish, locally known as pla kao ,in Kok Kian canal and the Bang Nara River have complained the fresh water has killed their fish.
       The problem has plunged many villagers into huge debt as they could not sell fish to pay their debts, said fish raiser Kariya Jeyi.
       In Trang, floods have gradually receded in some areas, but officials are still alert to possible mudslides and flash floods if rain, brought by the northeastern monsoon, hits the South again.

WORKING TO KEEP A TRADITIONAL COMMUNITY AFLOAT

       Dams have their pros and cons while providing electricity for millions, they can also devastate nearby communities.The Fishery Village Baan Huay Charoen project was initiated as a pilot project in early 2000 after Her Majesty the Queen expressed concern over the Sirikit dam's impact on Uttaradit province's Tha Pla community.
       The project aims to help villagers support their family by raising fish and,at the same time, promoting Fishery Village as a tourism destination. Army units based in Uttaradit are responsible for the project which receives support from various state institutions and nearby private companies.
       Initially, the project faced problems such as a lack of proper management and technical knowledge - as well as a market for its fish. In 2005, most of the 25 participating households who lived in raft houses in the Lum Nam Nan National Park started to leave the project in search of a better income.
       In 2007, Charoen Pokphand Food Plc (CPF) was invited to provide technical assistance on full-cycle fish raising,which covers production, management and marketing.
       Agricultural projects such as this require not only funding but also the knowledge of how to raise high-quality products that match the market's needs on a limited budget, said Adit Krisanawong, a CPF senior vicepresident.
       "The agricultural market increasingly embraces organic products and under this project villagers can raise fish in the Sirikit dam without using chemicals and let them grow in a natural way," he said.
       "If we can convince consumers of how the products are safe for their health,this will lead to a sustainable income."
       CPF suggested switching from pla nil (tilapia or alutera monceros) to pla tub tim (oreochromis niloticus), which the market prefers. The new model was tested for a year using military personnel and after it proved successful the villagers were asked to join again in 2008.
       "We help to find the market for the fish and help villagers plan for the market risk, as we do not help guarantee the prices," said Mr Adit.
       "Also, in order to sustain the project,villagers have to learn financial and management plans to keep the project going."
       The company has lent 805,500 baht without charging interest to provide each household with five kra-chang (a hinged-floating basket for keeping fish in water). Each kra-chang contains 1,500 fish and fish food is also provided.
       The fish are harvested twice a year,as they take about five months to grow big enough to be sold.
       About 5% of the proceeds from sales of the fish goes to the company to finance the continuation of the project and the rest is kept by participants.
       One of the scheme's early members,Ampuay Chompoonoi, returned to his hometown to rejoin the project on the invitation of the provincial army last year after leaving to make movie sets in Bangkok for two years.
       The 42-year-old Uttaradit native said he and his brother are currently the only two civilians participating in the Fishery Village project, along with three soldiers.
       "It didn't go that well when I first joined the project as there was no market for pla nil and no fish food support,"he said."But this time it's easier as all we need to focus on is to raise our fish well and [CPF] will take care of the market for us."
       The father of two said he earned about 80,000 baht from his previous raising, which started in November last year. Profit per kra-chang is estimated at about 3,000 to 5,000 baht.
       Mr Ampuay usually makes about 10,000 baht a month from his fruit fields and from fishing and selling his catch himself.
       "I wouldn't do it without the financial support from the company as I can't make a living out of raising fish alone since it takes four to five months before you can generate income from it," he said.
       Supree Baosingsauy, general manager of the Rural Lives Development Foundation established by CPF, said the project is expected to lure back more community members that have left to work elsewhere.

Seafood festival

       Seafood lovers should head to ChaAm during September 27 to October 6 for the Fish-Flock-Shellfish Festival 2009.
       The event will feature a string of beachfront stalls serving up delicious seafood prepared by chefs from over 50 hotels and restaurants.
       Running from 5pm to 10pm, visitors to the festival who are looking for a bit of adventure to go along with their feasting can join a night squid-fishing trip.
       Trawlers depart starting 6pm, each with an experienced local fisherman on board to show you how to bait squids. Bird watching expeditions to the surrounding areas are also be available, as well as sale of OTOP products.

EU urges fishing cuts to save cod stocks

       The European Union's executive body is calling for sharp cuts in the amount of cod fishermen can catch next year, pointing to estimates that the fish is close to extinction in some major fishing areas around Europe.
       Officials warned on Friday that only steep catch cuts will prevent the disappearance of a species prized for centuries for its flaky white flesh.
       The European Commission said recent studies showed cod catches in some areas are far outstripping the rate of reproduction. It is calling for up to 25%cuts in some areas.
       "We are not that far away from a situation of complete collapse," said Jose Rodriguez, a marine biologist with the environmental group Oceana. He and other environmentalists said pressure from the fishing industry had kept quotas at levels too high to sustain viable popu-lations around Europe, while lack of enforcement meant illegal fishing made the problem worse.
       Scientists estimated that in the 1970s there were more than 250,000 tons of cod in fishing grounds in the North Sea,eastern English Channel and Scandinavia's Skagerrak Strait. In recent years,however, stocks have dropped to 50,000 tons.
       The European Commission said on Friday it would seek in 2010 to cut the catch in some fishing grounds around Britain, France, Spain and much of Scandinavia from 5,700 tons to 4,250 tons.
       In the Mediterranean, bluefin tuna has been overfished for years to satisfy increasing world demand for sushi and sashimi. The tuna population is now a fraction of what it was a few decades ago, but the EU's Mediterranean nations last month refused to impose even a temporary ban.
       Oceana estimated that illegal fishing doubled the amount of tuna caught.
       Meanwhile cod, which once sustained vibrant fishing communities from Portugal to Britain to Canada, is increasingly consumed by the ton as salt cod and fish-and-chips.
       "People don't ask for fish and chips,they ask for cod and chips," said Mike Guo, a manager at Great Fish and Chips in Essex, England."It's a traditional dish."
       The depletion has caused the decay and disappearance of hundreds of fishing villages on both sides of the Atlantic.
       Overfishing off Canada's maritime provinces exhausted the world's richest cod grounds and forced the government to impose a fishing moratorium. The collapse wiped out more than 42,000 jobs, and 18 years later the fish have still not returned.
       "It was devastating," said Tom Hedderson, minister of fisheries in Newfoundland."This affected whole communities ... all up and down the coast here in Newfoundland and Labrador."
       He welcomed the EU call to cut catches by 25%, but suggested more drastic cuts may be needed.
       Some Canadian scientists believe the collapse of cod stocks off Newfoundland and Nova Scotia changed the marine ecosystem so dramatically it may be impossible for cod to recover. Off Newfoundland alone, cod stocks once exceeded 400,000 tons but now scale only 5,500 tons, Mr Hedderson said.
       There are signs of recovery of Atlantic cod off New England, however, after years of conservation efforts. And international regulators have reopened some areas off Canada for limited fishing,Canada's Fisheries and Oceans Department spokesman Scott Cantin said.
       The fishing industry in Europe, however, is in decline. The number of vessels in the 15 nations that were part of the EU in 1995 has dropped from 104,000 then to 81,000 in 2006.

GOVT TO RENEW TALKS WITH ASSEMBLY OF POOR, PM VOWS

       Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will renew talks with the Assembly of the Poor in the next two weeks to solve their problems, he said yesterday.
       Members of the assembly met the prime minister at a learning centre in Phibun Mangsahan district, also the assembly's headquarters in the Northeast. He handed over a 1.2 million baht cheque to farmer Grandma Hai Khanjantha for the loss of opportunity she suffered over 32 years, after her land was submerged by the Huay La Ha reservoir, built as part of a new dam.
       "I will hold talks with you [the Assembly of the Poor] in the next two weeks.
       PM's Office Minister Sathit Wongnongtoey accompanied the prime minister to the province.
       Mr Abhisit said he had asked Mr Sathit to oversee the assembly's problems.
       The government was drafting a regulation on community land title deeds,allowing communal use of state land,he said.
       To solve the plight of farmers generally, the government and assembly met for talks three times in June and July.
       "The government has succeeded in solving only the case of Grandma Hai.Other problems have yet to be solved,"said Sawat Uppahat, a member of the assembly.
       The problems include a drastic drop in the number of fish in the Moon River caused by construction of the Pak Moon Dam in Khong Chiam district,and land disputes between villagers and state agencies. Sompong Viengchan, a villager hit by construction of the dam, said the government should order the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand to open the dam's sluice gates permanently to let fish from the Mekong River come in.
       At the moment it opens four months a year.
       "We want our lives back. The dam has ruined our livelihoods for over a decade," said Mrs Sompong.
       Farmers wanted the government to provide 15 rai of land for each family and grant them compensation.
       Thongcharoen Srihatham, another member of the assembly, warned the prime minister not to use the people's problems as a political tool to seek votes. Shortly after the prime minister left, about 1,000 red shirt protesters rallied at the centre. They swore, burned a coffin, and threw a bag of fermented fish at his poster.